Arsenal has now overtaken Liverpool as the darling of England’s football fans, going by popularity of their kits.

The Reds’ first-ever agreement with Nike has coincided with them dropping off top spot to third in the 100 biggest-selling shirts in the country.

Last year, Liverpool’s shirt – the final installment from New Balance – was the most popular in the United Kingdom, having almost doubled in demand from the 2018/19 term when the Reds won the Champions League in Madrid.

However, an 84 per cent increase in demand for Chelsea’s 20/21 home jersey has seen the Londoners move up to second to leave Liverpool in third.

Sales of Liverpool’s home shirt is said to be down around 12 per cent on last year’s figures in the UK, with their goalkeeper kit experiencing a shortfall of 30 per cent.

The Reds’ third strip, which was only recently put on sale, is down by 57 per cent, but there is good news for the club’s brand new away shirt.

Liverpool’s bold away number, which “draws on cultural references from across the city,” according to Nike, is up by 34 per cent, making it the most in-demand of its kind in the UK at present.

Despite the huge surge from Chelsea, numbers are generally down across the entire Premier League, with supporters spending less money on replica shirts than any of the previous five years.

According to data and research from LoveTheSales.com, UK fans spent an estimated £23.9 million on Premier League kits alone last season, but with the the sharp fall in demand for club jerseys in pre-season, it is estimated that a £15m loss has been posted.

Inevitably, the coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on English clubs and a fall in shirt sales and profits from replica kits was perhaps already forecast in board rooms across the country.

Data suggests that demand levels for replica football shirts are at an historic five-year low, and UK online searches dropped by 63 per cent in August, compared to 2019.